County seed-sharing program launches

This handful of beet seeds is ready for spring planting. A new county seed library program is getting started that would provide seeds for gardeners, who would give back to the program by sharing some of their seeds after the harvest. Dan Plutchak photo

That's exactly what the East Troy Lions Public Library is doing. The library is a partner location for the Walworth County Seed Library program.

“People can come to the library to check out some seeds,” said Alison Senkevitch, director of the East Troy Lions Public Library. “Hopefully, we will get a good collection and hopefully people will donate more seeds in the fall to help people prepare for next year's crop.”

The library plans to obtain seeds for flowers, herbs and vegetables.

“We want to get seeds that are interesting or that can grow into heirlooms,” Senkevitch said. “We want something that will help the novice gardener.”

The library also plans to host special events and guest speakers related to agriculture and gardening. The first event is tentatively scheduled for early April and will feature Christine Wen, horticulture educator for the Walworth County University of Wisconsin Extension, as the guest speaker.

“We are planning to arrange events to help people get interested in gardening,” Senkevitch said. “We will use the (April ) event as a launching pad to help people become familiar with the program.”

The seed library program will benefit beginning gardeners and will encourage people to grow different types of produce in their gardens, Wen said.